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Dusk to Dawn
'' '' To Robo, THE best friend ever Earthcloud I ran blindly through the forest. Thorns tried to form a barrier and hold me back, but I simply barged through them, ignoring the brambles stuck in my pelt like moss green claws. I had no clue where I was going, but I simply followed my instict and turned whichever way I felt I needed to go. Waterpelt was in trouble. The vision had come to me moments earlier, the fragments flashing before my mind...Shadowpaw revealing she was with Echo, telling her mentor that Echo was Deathstar's slave. And I had no idea what happened next. Eventually, I reached the clearing I had seen in my dream. I glanced round wildly, my heart thrumming like the constant beat of paws in my chest. Where was Waterpelt? I couldn't see him. I cast my eyes over every rock, every crevice, every little cranny. And finally I saw his black and white pelt, hidden in a mask of bushes and tendrils. He was shaking like a frail branch in the wind. 'Waterpelt!' I cried out, relief flooding through me like icy water. He staggered out from underneath the bushes. His tail drooped, and he looked as exhausted as an elder who had fought a thousand battles. 'I'm okay,' he assured me. 'Honest,' he added, seeing my worried expression. 'Apart from this.' He indicated a long and deep scar down the side of his cheek. 'How did you get that?' I asked. 'What happened? Where's Shadowpaw?' He interrupted my stream of questions by clamping his tail gently over my muzzle. 'Shadowpaw scratched me,' he said miserably. 'Beaten by my own apprentice. StarClan knows how that happened. Then, once I recovered from the blow, I saw Shadowpaw dashing off into the forest.' I pressed my flank in what I hoped was a comforting way to Waterpelt's. 'She can't have just run off. Even Featherstar knows that cats don't dissapear like that.' 'Well I hope she had gone,' Waterpelt muttered grimly. 'Some apprentice.' ---- 'Now that,' Firewhisker remarked brusquely. 'Is a situation.' Waterpelt and I had returned to camp, and we immediately retold the story. Well, more accurately, I reiterated it, as Waterpelt was feeling angry and sad and depressed, and didn't want to talk much. Airfeather nodded, looking like she agreed with Firewhisker. 'Shadowpaw isn't as innocent as we first thought.' I glanced over at the golden apprentice who was enveloped in darkness in the corner of the camp. The shadows had swallowed her up, and only a flash of her pelt could be seen. But her eyes shone like sparkling disks, and they looked....evil. ''I gulped nervously. ''StarClan help us please...I have no idea what Echo is planning but help us please. ---- It was almost as if my prayer had been answered, as that night, I was drifting through a starry forest. The air was warm on my tongue, like greenleaf had been dancing all over it. There was no snow or cold in StarClan, unlike the conditions we were living in back home. In StarClan, everything is so crisp and clear, everything is so bright it is almost unnatural. The grass glows with green light and the flowers sing in their roots. I wondered through the lush forest until I came across a cat. Her pelt was a pale cream shade, the colour of milky sunlight. Her eyes were a striking amber, and she had a freedom about her that hadn't been present when she was alive. 'Redpoison!' I mewed happilly. 'Oh, it's lovely to see you again.' She let out a deep purr. 'Now I am free of the curse of Deathstar, I am much more joyful.' I looked down at my paws. 'I don't know whether we are yet, actually.' Redpoison's lively eyes darkened. 'Echo,' she whispered. 'He is the reason why I have brought you here, actually.' I looked up. 'Why? Are you telling me we're all going to...' I forced the word out like it was vomit. Die? 'Oh, no, no child, do not worry. StarClan has decided to grant you another gift,' Redpoison replied. I was bewildered. 'Another gift?' ''I repeated in astonishment. I didn't really like being able to see into the future. It is incredibly creepy and I don't like it. 'Why do you want to give me another?' 'Because,' Redpoison's voice dropped to an eerie whisper. 'It will help you destroy Echo.' 'How?' I said in disbelief. 'Don't panic,' she soothed, leaning in to press her muzzle to mine. 'It won't hurt.' 'What?' I scrabbled at the ground, trying to get away. But my legs had turned to rigid trees, and I was rooted to the spot. 'I don't want this gift. I don't want anything. All I want is a normal life!' But Redpoison was upon me, it was too late. She touched me, and I felt lightnin course through my fur. It was painul, so painful it felt like a hundred cats' claws were shredding me. My mind raced, and my whole body seemed to protest. ''Stop! Stop! I don't want this! Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the pain was gone. I realised I had fallen to the floor, and I was actually whimpering out loud. 'I don't want this....' I looked up. Redpoison was still there, her eyes blinking sympathy down at me. 'What have you done to me?' It was meant to come out as a snarl, but my voice trembled like a quivering leaf.' 'StarClan has given you a second gift,' Redpoison replied. 'But what is my new gift exactly?' I hissed. 'You can turn into different cats,' Redpoison answered as simply as if she were instructing me to go hunting. I couldn't hide my exasperation. 'Like Echo? I don't want to be like him!' 'You can use it to your advantage,' Redpoison insisted. 'Think, Earthcloud, think. You're clever. But be careful....' And I felt her drifting away from me like a carefree cloud. Echo Two cats prowled through the darkness. One was considerably larger, with a pelt so black he almost melted into the shadow. The other was a small she-cat with fur the shade of sunlight. They were walking through twolegplace, which was an odd place for them to be at this time. The older cat looked uncomfortable at the sight of all the twoleg nests and the Thunderpaths. 'Don't worry,' the younger one assured him. 'It's safe. And not much longer either. Stop worrying, Echo, it will be fine.' The cat called Echo scented the air. 'These cats smell disgusting,' he remarked airily. 'And they don't exactly sound friendly. Are you sure about this, Shadowpaw?' 'If we didn't talk to them, we would have no support, and our plans would fail,' Shadowpaw persuaded him. 'And they're my family. They'll be with me.' She stopped and turned left down a alley blanketed with silver shadows. 'Down here.' Echo hesitated, then followed the golden cat. As soon as he entered, the scent of crowfood overpowered him. He coughed, and padded on. At the end of the passage was a place that looked empty. Twoleg litter was strewn haphazardly across the path, and black pelts stinking of rubbish were perched in ever corner. Echo glanced at Shadowpaw. 'What do we do now?' 'Call him,' the apprentice mewed confidently. She took in a deep breath, the howled, 'Dark! It's me, Shadowpaw. And I need you....' TO BE CONTINUED IN EPISODE 4..... Category:Elements (Series)